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I’ve been thinking about this upcoming new year and I get butterflies in my stomach. Literally. There are big things that are about to happen in our lives and business and it gives me all the feels. I decided to come up with a theme word for 2018 and I think I’ve decided on “fresh”.

I love to decorate with live plants in our own home. I think something about the fact that they’re living just brings a breath of fresh air. They must be cared for and tended to. If that doesn’t happen, they won’t flourish. But if they’re taken care of they will thrive and make the space feel fresh and alive. I want us to embrace that same feeling of freshness in our life and business this year.

This next year will be full of that.

For starters, this year might bring a fresh new endeavor. The very first new home construction that Hartman Homes has ever done is on the horizon for 2018. I mentioned in an earlier blog post that we purchased some land a couple months ago. We’ve been toying several different ideas around in our minds and right now the idea of subdividing that land and building homes on it is winning. I guess that would end up being a mini “Hartman Homes” neighborhood.

My second thought with “fresh” is with design. I’ve found that when you design multiple kitchens, bathrooms, exteriors, etc for a living it’s easy to find a comfortable spot in design and stick to it. But I also get tired and bored of “trends” really quickly. For instance, I’ve been getting tired of the farmhouse craze that has taken over the world. This year, I’m challenging myself to continuously think outside the box and have fresh ideas when designing new spaces. Our drive is to do quality work that is “different” enough to set us apart from others.

And lastly, fresh beginnings are on the way. I don’t want to say too much too soon, but a big change is about to happen in our business and we couldn’t be more excited and nervous all at the same time. When we started working this business three years ago we had a specific goal in mind. That goal was to have freedom. We wanted freedom with our time so we could enjoy this life together and with our children. We didn’t want to miss a minute. We wanted financial freedom so we would be able to bless others and exercise our spiritual gifts of giving. We also wanted freedom to dream and be able to pursue those dreams. I’ve been thinking about sharing a bit more of our beginning story on here and maybe someday I will.

During the really difficult, exhausting, overworked times we’ve maintained the mindset to “live like no one else, so that one day you can live like no one else”. Does that make sense? Basically, don’t get comfortable. Pray harder and dream bigger. Pursue those dreams that God placed in your heart tirelessly. Be the driving force to accomplish those dreams.

So going into 2018, “fresh” is going to be the word that we claim as we embark on this new year full of fresh things. Thanks for reading and I pray you all have a blessed new year!

Well, it’s that time again! The most exciting blog posts for me to write are the ones with before and after pictures of our flip projects. I call them “projects” because they’re just that. These houses are a hobby for us. We LOVE breathing new life into an old house and making it new and fresh again. Of course it’s a very expensive and labor intensive hobby, but it’s also quite lucrative when it’s all said and done. So with that in mind these projects are more of a financial investment than anything. It’s just fun for us; we enjoy it and we make money. Win/win situation!

Don’t let my scarce blog posts fool you. These flips aren’t finished overnight. These are long, hard renovations. Right now we’re averaging about a 4 month timeline from demo day to staging day. There are moments in this process where we feel like the end is not in sight. But, then the day comes and we look around and there’s nothing else to add to our list of “to do’s”. And then as soon as that day approaches, I’m already starting to plan the design for the next one.

The blog today is going to encompass the entire main living spaces that includes: living room, kitchen, dining room, foyer, and sunroom. For this house my initial inspiration was this: a clean, neutral slate with bold pops of color and pattern. This is tricky, you see. If that wasn’t executed perfectly the house could end up looking one of two extremes. It could end up feeling tacky and sporadic or it could be too far the other direction and feel boring and tasteless. At one point during the process I was nervous and was worried the kitchen was too simple with whites and blacks, but once it all came together and the bold pops of color joined in at the end, I was so relieved. In my opinion, it turned out perfect, but I’ll let you (and the buyers) be the judge. I’ll add paint colors and such at the end of the post in case anyone is interested.

Now, the before pictures:

Kitchen and Dining

Foyer

Living Room

Sunroom

Now, on to the after pictures!!! Aka…the exciting part! 😬😬😬

Kitchen and Dining After

If you look closely in the picture below you can see the texture on the leathered granite countertops. Such a neat, unexpected detail…

Foyer After

This space, friends, turned out so fabulous. Now, of course, if you’re a person who only likes whites and no color then I’m sure it’s not tickling your fancy. But, for me, since I love a little personality…I think it’s great!

This is what you see on your left as soon as you walk in the front door.

And below is your view looking straight forward as you walk in the front door.

Living Room After

This tile around the fireplace….let me tell you….it’s even better in person, if that’s even possible! It’s so vintage and fun and …just perfect!

Sunroom After

Well, how do you feel about my green ceiling in the sunroom?? I literally LOVE it!! I feel like the ceiling is a place that often gets forgotten when design takes place, but it’s such a huge place to make an impact.

Well, that’s all for now. This beauty goes on the market next Tuesday, so wish us luck! And, if you’re interested let us know and we can put you in touch with our realtor. The house is 2300 sq feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Asking price is $187,500.

We’ve got so much going on right now. Sometimes I think we’re a little bit wacko to tackle so much at one time…but alas, here we are!

First off we’re elbow deep into our current flip house. It’s been 3 weeks since demo day and we’ve had stuff going on almost each day. We had the new HVAC system with a gas furnace installed last week. This week the new rooms started being framed, we had a new roof put on, and the painting started. I’ve pretty much finished all of the designing and shopping for this house already. All of the bathroom fixtures, lighting, tile, and paint has been purchased. I am SO stoked for this house to start taking shape. I decided to go with a creamy White for the walls (exact color is Sherwin William’s Drift of Mist) and a medium gray (Sherwin William’s Dorian Gray) for all of the trim and interior doors. This house had fabulous, thick old trim and I wanted it to be a highlighted feature in the design of this house. Here’s a sneak peek of these colors.

As soon as the kitchen cabinets are finished being painted (in Sherwin William’s Alabaster), we will select the granite so it can be installed.

Once the bathrooms start coming together I’ll share details of those rooms. Here’s a hint, we’re creating an enormous master suite by turning the old den into the master bath!! Whoo, I can hardly wait! It’s going to be incredible!

My goal is to have most of my design work completed for this house before our baby makes his appearance in the next several weeks. This will allow me to have some necessary time off from this project after he is born.

The next project that we have going on is at our house. At this very moment our master bathroom is fully gutted and is about to receive a complete makeover. We’re also hoping to have this done before the baby comes, hopefully even in this next week. We’re rearranging the layout of the room, we’ve removed 2 closets and are adding a new walk in closet, adding all new tile, a new vanity, new shower, fresh paint, lighting, fixtures, etc. I’m SO excited!

My vision for this bathroom was for it to be a good mixture of several styles and not feel too “trendy”. I want it to be classy enough to last for a long, long time. The goal of the design is for it to feel clean and fresh with a hint of a historical, Charleston feel, a hint of farmhouse, and a hint of industrial. But not too much of any of those. I want it to feel fresh and airy. I’ll share a few individual pictures of some of the items going into this bathroom.

This gorgeous, classy tile is perfect! I knew it was the right one the moment I found it!! We will use it to cover the floor and the large soap box in the shower will be in this tile too!

This 72″ vanity is handmade from reclaimed wood and will have two above mount white, rectangle sinks on it.

These lights that we decided to use for above the vanity were the perfect mixture of industrial and farmhouse. We have three of these lights that will be to the left, middle, and right of the round, brass rimmed mirrors.

The tub/shower will be tiled in a large white subway tile with charcoal colored grout. The wall behind the toilet will also be tiled in this same subway tile. The rest of the walls are going to be painted in a bright, fresh…wait for it…green!! Yes, green! Imagine a creamy sage green, but a bit brighter. I’m so excited! Another feature I’m pretty excited about are these built in shelves next to the shower. They will look kinda like this.

One of the design staples that inspired this room came from a purchase we made during our recent trip to Charleston, SC. We love it there so much and wanted to incorporate some pieces from there into our new bathroom. I purchased two old prints (one of a painting of the battery and downtown area and one old map). I framed them in antique brass frames and they will be hung above the toilet on the tile wall. Can you get a sense yet of the feeling I’m trying to achieve in here?! Ahh, I can feel it and can’t wait to see it all come together!

Stay tuned for the before and after pictures as soon as this room is finished! I promise I’ll do a blog post.

I just realized that it has been nearly two months since my last blog post. Wow! Totally didn’t realize it had been that long. I feel like I should give a general update on our flipping journey.

Our most recent flip house went on the market in early August. That was a rollercoaster from start to finish. We received an offer right at two weeks later. Huge happy face here!!!! Then the next morning we found out that the buyers got cold feet and changed their mind. Huge sad face now!! Total roller coaster of emotions. That very same afternoon we found out that an agent at another showing reported that the appliances were gone. What?!?! Yep. Someone came into our unoccupied flip house during the wee hours of the morning and took the washer, dryer, and oven. Approximately $2,300 worth of appliances walked right out the door. Well, you can imagine that the roller coaster of emotions were still going strong…from elated, to disappointed, to furious all in less than 24 hours.

Once the initial shock wore off we came to the understanding that this may not be the first time this happens to us with our plans to continue on this real estate flipping journey. Vacant real estate is a prime target for dishonest people, and if this is a game we are going to play then that is a risk we are willing to take. Odd enough, only appliances were taken. The main living spaces were totally furnished with furniture, decor, dishes, etc and none of it was touched! Well, except the towels in one of the bathrooms. Those were taken, presumably to keep from scratching the thief’s new appliances while removing them from the house. The following week we replaced the stove, but decided to not replace the washer and dryer since it was just money coming out of our pockets. Of course we checked with our homeowner’s insurance to see if it was covered…and nope. Not at all. Sure we were paying for super great, expensive vacant property insurance, but alas robbery is not covered at all. Fire, vandalism, acts of terrorism, the list of covered items goes on and on, but robbery…not covered.

The biggest twist to the robbery part of this story is that the detective working on the case found our appliances! Of course it was a couple weeks after we had replaced the stove. But the officers just happened to be at a home for another reason and there they were, all three of the stolen appliances. There are details I can’t share on here, but a couple weeks later we got them all back! Wow. Totally a God thing. Thank the Lord! We all know that in this day and age, if something is stolen the chance of getting them back is slim to none…so it was a huge surprise!

Almost four weeks after listing the house we received another great offer. We immediately accepted aaannnnddd….we closed on it today!!! Yippeee!

Here’s the last and final picture we took of the home last Saturday when we did our final work day there. We removed the staging items, mowed, vacuumed, etc. and then left the keys and garage door openers on the counter for the new owners.

A little piece of my heart is always sad when closing day comes. Of course, the investor side of my heart is excited for payday, but the designer side of my heart is just a wee bit sad to see all of my hard work go to someone else. But it’s a weird feeling because I’m also totally pumped that someone else loves it enough to make it their own. It’s a bittersweet, but mostly sweet day. I know that last paragraph was way confusing…I’m such a woman.

We’ve been on the intense hunt for another home to start working on. We’ve looked at a bunch, made an offer that wasn’t accepted on one, and have been scouring through foreclosures to the point that I’m exhausted. This is certainly my least favorite part of this journey. I’m ready to have one in our possession so that the creativity and designing can start…that is the BEST part!

Hopefully I’ll have a new house to share pictures of, along with my plans for it very soon. We’re just praying the Lord gives us wisdom as we continue our search and that He opens doors on this journey as He sees fit.

I picked up this little chest of drawers from a fella I met through Craigslist. Well, I technically met this dresser on Craigslist, knew I needed it in my life, and then met its owner when I picked it up. I purchased it for $50.00. Not too bad…more than I wanted to pay, but that was as low as he would go.

Yesterday was it’s “rehab” day. I had refinished a different dresser on Saturday and was planning to make this one match it, since they were both going to be going in our bedroom. Here’s a picture of the first one I finished.

Since I had just completed that one, I had leftover supplies to use on this one. Here is a before picture of my little chest of drawers.

Lots of potential, but currently unattractive…
Here’s a step by step guide on how I transformed it—

1- Remove all the knobs and pulls. I used a drill to remove these, but you could use a simple screwdriver too, it would just take longer.

2- This next step is essential to refinishing any piece of furniture…sand it really well. This dresser had so much varnish on it that it needed a lot of sanding to get down to the wood. Even with using an electric sander my arms were sore the next morning.

3-After sanding, thoroughly wipe off the furniture to remove all the dust the sanding created.

4-Apply your first coat of paint. I brushed this one in Sherwin Williams Dover White, although in the past I’ve rolled paint on and also used a paint sprayer too. So really it’s up to you on how you want to paint it. This next picture is kinda halfway through painting the first coat of paint on.

5- Let the first coat dry, and then paint a second coat of paint on. Let it dry again.

6- Here’s where you get to be creative and it gets fun. In the past I’ve often just sanded some paint off in certain areas to give a chippy, distressed look, but I wanted to try something different with this set of furniture. I purchased Valspar’s antiquing glaze, pictured below, and applied it with an old, hard bristled brush. The glaze is workable for 15 minutes, so I let it set for a bit and then rubbed it off with an old t-shirt. If I finished a spot and then decided it needed more I would just reapply and then wipe it off again.

7- Once that dries, make sure to seal it with something. If you forget this step, your beautiful paint job will be more likely to mess up once you start using it. I used Minwax’s spray Polycrylic Protective Finish, but there’s kinds you can brush on too. I sprayed two coats of this on and let it sit for about an hour.

8- Put your knobs and pulls back on. Sometimes I will paint the knobs/pulls and sometimes I will replace them with different ones, but I simply reused most of the ones from this dresser because they had a lot of personality already. I did replace the top two knobs because they were pretty plain and boring. I had imagined using glass knobs, but then I looked around in my “spare knobs” container in the basement and discovered two from a previous job that I had leftover. They matched pretty great, so that ended up saving me some money!
The final product is something I’m pretty proud of! I think it has a weathered and worn, almost driftwood look to it. It’s not perfect, and that’s something that I like about it. It makes my heart happy!

Now I just need to fill it up and put it in its new home where I can admire it everyday!

Thanks for reading! If you try these tips, let me know how your project turns out!! I’d love to know!

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you… follow me on Pinterest. I just set it up to where it is linked to my blog. The board is called Hartman Interiors. The pictures there are all direct links to this blog!

Yesterday afternoon I met with the marketing agent for our realtor to work on the video for our upcoming open house on August 7. They also wanted to film a feature on Hartman Interiors. How exciting is that?! I was a little nervous, but everything went fine. They videoed me while I talked about different features of the flip house and the design ideas that inspired the rooms. I also talked about some of the pieces that are for sale at the flip. I haven’t seen the video yet, so fingers crossed that I don’t look like a weirdo. 😉

Today I finished writing prices on the tags, stamping them with my business stamp, and tying them on to all the pieces at the house. It’s starting to look like a showroom at a department store with every piece in the house labeled with a price/description. I actually already sold two pieces (a table and a lamp) and will have to replace them before the open house. As a little side note…to my lifelong friend who stopped by while I was working on that today…thanks for stopping! It made my day to hear all the positive things you had to say. You’re so sweet!

Now on to the “update” part of this blog post. Let’s reminisce with a couple before pictures…

Eeekkk…not attractive. I definitely had my work cut out for me in this room. White, white, white, and black. Bad combo in this situation.

I deliberated for a very short amount of time on whether to keep the existing cabinets. The final result was a big NO. The layout just didn’t work. Having that mini peninsula coming right out to the fridge made the space seem very small. I decided to rearrange the layout of the kitchen, so on demo day this place was demolished down to the walls. The cabinets, lighting, countertops, appliances, sink and flooring were all torn out and eventually replaced. The new layout makes the kitchen flow much better now.

My vision for this space was this: “farmhouse meets classic meets modern”. I tend to be drawn towards the industrial, farmhouse look when decorating my own house. So of course I wanted to incorporate some of that feeling, but I also wanted the space to be timeless and classic enough to appeal to the majority of potential homebuyers.

I decided on solid oak cabinetry, but left a couple open spaces so that we could do open shelving in those spots. My granite choice is called White Cloud and it is the perfect blend of white, gray, and black. For the backsplash I did a white subway tile with a light gray grout color. The gray, “wood like” tile flooring is the same flooring that is in both bathrooms and the laundry/mudroom. The light fixtures I picked for this space are a stainless color and match the new sink and faucet. We also furnished new, stainless appliances (excluding a refrigerator).

The chandelier in the dining room is my favorite one in the whole house. It is stunning! Believe it or not, that fixture is a Craigslist find! The dining room table is also a Craigslist find and is over 100 years old. I had originally planned on painting the table white, but when I learned the history of it I knew I couldn’t dare paint it. I did, however, reupholster the seats because they were in rough condition. To be so old, the table is in immaculate shape. As an antique lover myself…it’s dreamy!

And now, after all that talking…😁 here are the after pictures.

As always, thanks for reading this update!! I enjoy sharing parts of our flipping journey here on my blog and it’s always nice to hear your feedback. I’ll be sharing the address and link to the open house flyer next week, so if anyone would like to come, see it in person, and shop from the furniture/decor feel free!!

Today we bought our next flip house. We can hardly wait to get started on this one. Our demo day is this coming Saturday. We have BIG plans for this home!

This almost 1500 sq ft brick home is situated on 2.5 acres of land and has a sunroom, two car garage, and three out buildings. It has so much potential just waiting to have some “Hartman Interiors” special touches added to it. I’m planning to blog throughout the flip of this one, so I wanted to start with some before pictures.